Box Score (PDF) | Harris Interview | Highlights

LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell (3-19, 0-9) women's basketball team could not keep pace with the UAlbany Great Danes (12-10, 6-3) in the third quarter, as the visitors pulled away for the 79-60 setback on Wednesday night.
 
Kayla Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.) scored a team-high 16 points, and picked up the double-double with 15 rebounds. Markayla Sherman (Cincinnati, Ohio) chipped in 11, while Nicole Hayner (Bedford, N.H.) added 10 points.

"It was a tough game to watch," commented Jenerrie Harris. "I thought we did a good job in the first quarter, and the whole first half, and then the third quarter happened and it got away from us. They were able to make plays and get their best players on the floor and we just didn't respond to that."
 
UAlbany was paced by Jessica Fequiere's game-high 17 and Imani Tate's 14. Bailey Hixson added 10 points to the attack, while Khepera Stokes dished out six assists.
 
The River Hawks a took a 7-4 lead after Gibbs completed a three-point play to spark a 5-0 run within the first four minutes of the opening frame. Gibbs scored seven straight UMass Lowell points in the quarter, and Oda Shackelford (Edinburgh, Ind.) knotted up the score at 13-13 with 2:46 on the clock.
 
UAlbany ended the period on a 11-4 run, including a buzzer-beating three Imani Tate to give the visitors a 24-17 buffer heading into the second. Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first, with the Great Danes connecting on 58.8 of their shots and the River Hawks shooting an even 50.0 percent from the field.
 
Gibbs extended her scoring streak to 19 consecutive games in double figures with a basket to bring UMass Lowell within 26-20 with 7:46 left in the half.
 
Following a 10-0 UAlbany spurt, Hayner connected on back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to 36-26. In the final 70 seconds of the half, Asia Mitchell-Owens (Roxbury, Mass.) added a triple and Tyshay Britten (Norristown, Pa.) hit a pair of free throws as the River Hawks entered halftime trailing 42-32.
 
UAlbany outscored the hosts 26-10 in the third quarter and entered the fourth holding a 68-42 advantage.
 
UMass Lowell is back in action on February 4 at Binghamton for a 4 p.m. tip.